Trip planning: part of the adventure or a necessary evil?
 

I get caught up in the research and possibilites when planning a trip, so much so that I sometimes have to hide my obsession from my family :)

Why? It is a healthy obsession. The planning/anticipation is easily a major part of the fun.

Agreed!

I feel like the planning stage is one of the most fun parts of travel. This is your opportunity to dream, to ask 'what if'. As you go through the planning stage you can get prepared to enjoy your trip even more.

Trip planning is a form of education for me. Travel guides, message boards, novels, biographies, movies- all are a part of my studies. Fodorites are my classmates and the travel to a destination is my field trip. Luckily, my family gives me an A for my efforts every time!

I agree with others that trip planning is fun and worthwhile. However, IMO it is easy to go too far, to the point of information overload. This can leave you with too many options, more confused than when you started, and possibly regretful that you did x instead of y.

I agree with others; planning is a big part of the fun of travel. What I like less, though, are the nitty-gritties of working out the exact details of car rental, online train tix, etc. "Let's take the train to X and stay in this adorable gite" holds more appeal than fine tuning it!

I LOVE the planning part! I think it's paid off for me, especially thoroughly studying my Michelin maps before a trip. It's such a good feeling to know the names of the towns you're coming up to. Even in cities, I like to study the city map beforehand.

Here's a little example of a totally unprepared American women I ran into on my recent Paris trip: She was standing at the bus stop in front of the Louvre, having anxiety fits, didn't know where she was, Right Bank or Left. When the bus came (my bus, over to the Left Bank) she's carrying on excitedly with the poor bus driver about where he's going and if it's near "her" hotel. He finally got a word in edgewise to tell her that
he had no idea what hotel was "her" hotel! What an embassassment (another American!). I finally took pity on her, and told her where to get off the bus. I hope she found her hotel (somewhere near Place St. Michel). What a dingbat! Anyway, that's an example of poor planning (or maybe NO
planning).

Oh, it's definitely part of the fun! But I agree, somem part are more fun than others. Figuring out things like car rental prices, and where to pick up and drop off, are less fun.

I end up researching so many hotels and restaurants that, as we walk through whatever city we're in, it's not uncommon for me to say, "Oh, I checked out that place, it's great," or "it's supposed to be dirty," or whatever!

I love the planning, so much so that I am mystified by my SIL who would rather go on an organized tour than do any research herself. She arrives everywhere as a blank slate which is both good and bad. Without any foreknowledge, she's absolutely blown away by all the sights, the history, scenery, etc., and loves every minute of her adventure. But she also doesn't know when the tour skips something really interesting, so I've learned not to ask "Did you see [abc]/go to [xyz]? and burst her bubble.

Sue, I wonder if that was my sister. She never researches at all - leaves it all to me. One day we went our separate ways, after I had tried to set it all out for her. She got back telling me she had been on an adventure.
Even though I do the research, on any given evening I give her options for the next day, so I am not always bossing her around.
I love the research - what is that old song, "Anticipation!"

I agree with most of what's been said--as I suppose most Fodorites do or why would they be here so often? And I'm definitely with Lexma on the business of saying as we pass some restaurant or hotel--oh that's one I considered, or there's a temple we could have eaten at, etc. It probably drives my fellow travelers crazy but it's sort of the price they pay for my having worked so long and hard to find us the best or to be sure we know of all the available options. I also think the non-planners miss a lot, though Cynthia is right, they never know.

My brother called me last night from a bookstore. He was in the travel section and wanted to know which guide I recommended for his upcoming trip. He flew to his destination this morning...

Wow, Amwosu, that floors me. How will he even know how to get from the airport to whereever he is going? Some might see that as spontaneous and fun, but it would scare the heck out of me!

A week in Paris stretched into 18 months because of all the research and preparation we did. Travel websites, restaurants, nightclubs, event calendars, apartment rental sites, hotel sites, sightseeing sites! It all added up to a beautiful trip which seemed so much longer than it was.

cynthia- It sums up the way he lives life- by the seat of his pants. We're middle aged so I don't think he's going to grow out of it. :) He enjoys himself. Just not the same way I do.

Omigosh! I plan trips even when I have no idea when/if I'll take them. And I love helping others plan trips. I love itinerary planning, even the logistics part. The point where I draw the line is planning every single day out - on Tuesday which museum in the morning, which restaurant for lunch, which museum in the afternoon, evening walk along/through _____, etc. I like having a general plan, including knowing what I want to see and when best to visit, but I'm not into micromanagement of my days.

This past summer we spent 3 1/2 weeks in France (I wrote about it in a trip report "Our Month in France"). The only two nights I hadn't researched were almost disasters. On one night we could not find a hotel that had any vacancies (this was in Arles where they were having an international photography exhibit and all the rooms were booked). We finally found one about 1 a.m. due to a desk clerk having mercy on my very exhausted 13 year old). On the other night, a Saturday, we arrived in Limoges not realizing that Sundays everything was closed. The rest of the trip was totally researched and prepared for and thanks to many people on this forum and Trip Advisor, we had great accomodations and wonderful sights and a fantastic trip. My wife (who is a notorious "improvisor")has now sworn to never travel without doing some planning. And it is the most fun I've had in years, both the planning and the trip. This is a fantastic site and there are so many folks here who are more than willing to give advice and/or answers to all questions you might have (I still think a lot of them don't work or even leave their house, they just sit by the computer all day and respond to queries on this site. These are the true Fodorites, unless they're aliens who have traveled the universe and find answering questions about Europe more fun than the galaxy.)

I always say that the planning is at least half the fun!

So very often you read..'going to Paris, where should I stay, what should I do'...I can't imagine wanting some strangers to do it all for you. Nor would I do it for someone unknown to me.

I know where I am going and I know what is there long before I get there. That doesn't mean that everything is on some sot of tight schedule..definitely not. I go to areas and wander, also knowing some dining and/or other things in the area, too.

Planning is fun...not to be missed!

Joan

For me, travel planning is an obsession. It enriches my experience and makes the anticipation much sweeter.

However, it can easily become the evil. I have to be careful....too much planning/research gives me burnout and the excitement is dulled. If that happens,(and its a new place), I feel like I've already been there.

I know now to take breaks and give it a rest, which is hard to do.

one more thought...the non-planner NEVER knows what they're missing. I guess that is the beauty.

I, on the other hand, never want to miss anything...

laurela - I love how you said the planning process actually extends your trip from one week to 18 months, true for me as well

gracejoan - I too like to plan and secure the details of housing, transportation and potential activities/restaurants ahead of time and then I can be spontaneous and loosely scheduled while there

adventureseeker - to avoid burnout I let myself go crazy with research at the early stage of planning and then back-off a bit and revisit the information closer to the trip to fill in the blanks and rev up the excitement

Flounder, you're preaching to the choir here. Most everybody on Fodors is there because they like to research. And I do too. But I'm with artsnletters. I don't do daily itineraries. I have a list (sometimes written, sometimes mental) of possibilities. We see how we feel, what the weather is, etc, and decide on the day. (Of course, there are some things that must be reserved ahead of time.)

Count me among those who consider reading and planning to be at least half the fun. It's possible to over-do it, of course. But gaining a better understanding of the place you will be visiting is a very important part of any adventure... and an enriching endeavor in its own right.

I don't do daily itineraries, either, except for the few places where we must have reservations (the Vatican Museums, for example). I try to group possibilities together based on geography, and have copious information on all the possibilities. Yes, I end up having information that we don't need/use, but on the other hand, I also have a lot of information that is hugely helpful.

Sometimes I get burnout, or tired of researching/planning. I tend to go in waves, depending on the time frame and my mood. So I'll do a lot for a couple of weeks, then nothing for a couple of weeks.

And yes, my family makes fun of me for all the planning and research. But they also benefit greatly from my notes and ideas (we came up with some great restaurants on our last trip that we never would have just wandered into). And they mostly recognize that. And at some point in the planning process, when they've had enough, I get limited to 15 minutes a day of talking about "trip stuff."

You know, I NEVER have felt like I know a place already - it's always just a little bit different than I envisioned from reading about it, or pictures I've seen.

when I found fodors I was in the rather less than more camp when it came to planning - I'd know roughly what I wanted to do, but not much more then that.

now I'm a converted planner, much to the disgust of my DH -even though he realises how much more we have seen and how much time [and money] we have saved because of the planning!

I'm not actually sure that you can do "too much" planning, though it has certainly been suggested that i spend too much time doing it - that's another thing of course.

at the moment I'm planning our trip to Rome in February; whenever I'm "caught", my excuse is that I'm practising my italian!

I'm another traveler for whom part of the fun is doing the pre-trip planning -- love the research, drawing up itineraries, determining travel connections on side trips, and such. I say no apologies needed if you love this part of things.

if i am not planning a trip, i am miserable. period...

As some of you have already said - we Fodor's posters are most definitely in the planner's camp!

jetsetj -- absolutely true for me as well (and I'm miserable right now)...:-(

I love my planning! Most of the other travelers I go with are happy to let me do the work, and I enjoy it immensely. What I tend to do is this:

First, set out an itinerary - when, where, and for how long. Moving around? Then I ask each traveler what they really want to see on this trip, and what they would like to see, but not a must. I get everyone's must-see items, and try to get most of the others in, make a 'plan', and send it to them for approval.

Once I've got the basic plan, I start researching each area, finding all the possible interesting spots and things to explore. Abbeys, castles, shopping, folk parks, museums, etc. I keep this list, but realize that I will probably only check out half of them, if that many. We usually decide once we get to the area what we want to do... but we have the list of all the possiblities. We usually ask the locals for advice, as well, as we normally stay at B&Bs.

For the months before the trip, I usually email my traveling companions with tidbits about the trip. I set up the itinerary on a website for their reference, as well as cost estimates, and other details. For instance, we went to Scotland for 3 weeks in 2008. We stayed at 7 different places for 3 nights each. For the 7 months prior to the trip, I would send tidbits about each area (one for each month). November was 'Edinburgh' month, so I sent popular tourist spots, places to eat, museums, history bits, photos of different areas, etc. Same for each subsequent area.

This does several things - lets me plan maniacally, but also helps to inform my travel companions of the area. They don't have to read all the emails, but they are there if they want them.

I love planning trips; it's great fun finding good local restaurants, getting the tips that let us act like locals, knowing that a special museum or attraction is closed on the second Thursday, etc. Planning helps limit disappointments and decide what we think is most important for us to see and do. I do lots of research, but when I leave I try to enjoy the "being" rather than the "doing". The most treasured parts of a trip are often the serendipitous encounters and sights - the wedding party in the square, the child imitating a sculpture, a conversation with a shopkeeper, etc. - that can't be planned. But planning helps put me in a place where the unexpected can happen.

So many of you could be writing about me. I LOVE trip planning, absolutely adore it. I love the first bit of deciding on a country or area then narrowing it down. Then checking things like the weather at that time of year, trawling through Trip Advisor and other sites looking for places we can afford, then mapping it all on Google to make sure the hotel is in a central location. Gosh how we'd all miss the internet if it suddenly disappeared.

When we lived in Australia I'd spend between 6 and 12 months planning a month long trip. When we moved to the UK, about 4 years ago, suddenly I had Europe at the ends of my fingertips - online booking fingertips - and we went a bit crazy because we could. It was all on our doorstep instead of a 24 hour flight away. Just the thought that we could be in Amsterdam or Lisbon or Budapest for a weekend trip blew my mind.

We've done over 60 trips since arriving here, either weekends or a week or sometimes longer. I've had to learn to cope when, instead of having the luxury of 6 months to research, I was cramming it into a few days before we'd be off again. It's tough but someone's got to do it :-)

Kay

Kay, I would be the same way if I were ever able to move to Europe. Growing up in south Florida, where it is a 6 hour drive just to get out of the state, much less country, I was not used to being able to get somewhere quickly. I would go crazy if I lived in Europe, where a 6 hour drive could take you to 4 different countries!

I love planning and dreaming about my next trip.

If I'm traveling with someone else I give them guidebooks and ask them to at least pick their must-see sights. Sometimes they follow thru, sometimes not. It really bugs me when travel buddies don't give me at least an idea of what they want to see and I feel that I have to read their minds. That's why I am now planning my first solo trip. I can plan to my heart's content without having any constraints other than time and money.

Hi GreenDragon, I know just what you mean. In Australia, if I flew in a plane for 4 hours I'd still be in Australia. There are so many different countries within a couple of hours of London, it's fabulous.

Kay

Love planning, especially comparing sites to get the best hotel at the best value. My trips are usually short becasue I don't like to leave my cat for too long (she has a sitter), so I do have to plan rather well.Not minute by minute but if doing day trips like my last trip to Switzerland, which day to which town. don't do well at pre planning restaurants - never seem to make it to the ones i've picked!

I am never so happy as when planning a trip. It really makes it seem close to happening